Robert Palmer Abbott (1830 – 31 October 1901) was a politician and solicitor in colonial New South Wales, a member of both the Legislative Assembly and

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. Abbott was born in

Broadford, County Clare Broadford () is a small village in eastern County Clare, Ireland and a Catholic parish of the same name. As of the 2022 census, the village population was 294. The hamlet was immortalised by The Waterboys in the instrumental 'The Trip to Broad ...

in Ireland, and emigrated to Sydney as a boy with his parents, Eleanor, née Kingsmill and Thomas Abbott, policeman, arriving in the colony in 1838. He was admitted a solicitor in 1854, subsequently specialising in litigation concerning the

Robertson Land Acts The Crown Lands Acts 1861 (NSW) (or Robertson Land Acts) were introduced by the New South Wales Premier, John Robertson, in 1861 to reform land holdings in New South Wales and in particular to break the squattocracy's domination of land tenure. ...

, and had opened an office in Tamworth. Abbott ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Legislative Assembly at the 1869 election for

Tenterfield Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia, situated at the junction of the New England and Bruxner highways, along the Northern Tablelands, within the New England, New South Wales, New England region. At the , Tenterfield ha ...

, and the 1871 New England by-election, before winning the 1872 election for Tenterfield, serving as the member for Tenterfield until his defeat at the 1877 election. He was

Secretary for Mines The position of Secretary for Mines was an office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for ...

in the first ministry of

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

from 27 July 1874 until 8 February 1875, and was Mayor of East St Leonards from February 1878 until February 1879. He returned to the Assembly as the member for

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales * Hartley, South Australia ** Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada * Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom * Hartley, Cumbria * Hartley, P ...

at the 1880 election. He was nominated to the

in 1885, and sat till 1 March 1888, when he resigned, owing to his objection to certain appointments. He was a member of the New South Wales Commission in London for the

Colonial and Indian Exhibition The Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 was held in South Kensington in London with the objective to (in the words of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the then Prince of Wales) "stimulate commerce and strengthen the bonds of union now exis ...

of 1886. He assisted his cousin, Joseph Abbott, be elected at the 1888 Newtown by-election, while his nephew, Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, served in the Legislative Assembly for 21 years, including 10 years as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. Abbott never married and died at Tempe on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Robert Palmer Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1830 births 1901 deaths Colony of New South Wales politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of East St Leonards